"No. Just no. You know what she did to me! What her sick boyfriends did to me!" I said, growing more an more agitated by the second. I shuddered at the thought of the many, many times I had been the subject of abuse between the men that mother decided to harbor for money. "I will never accept this," I said.

My dad sighed, obviously tired of the back and forth. "Jacob, I know how you feel about this, but we've been going out for a couple of weeks now and we've been talking," he said. "You need a mother."

"No, I don't," I snapped back.

"Your mother has been doing much better. She's not dinking anymore and she's trying to come clean. Just give her a chance," he urged.

"No fucking way," I growled.

My dad's eyes flashed with anger then and he crossed his arms. "Watch your language, Jacob," he said sharply. It was the first time I'd ever seen him mad and I stepped back in surprise. My dad saw my shock and he sighed again, brushing his hair out of his face. "I'm not arguing about this anymore. You have a friend over and I have things to do. You will welcome your mother with open arms and be nice to her," he said.

I snorted. "Like hell I will," I told him as I headed for the door to my father's study where we had taken out conversation to be behind closed doors, slamming it on my way out.

Ryan stood awkwardly several feet away from my mother by the stairs when I entered the hallway, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the front door insistently. He frowned at me. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not staying in this house right now. I don't want to be anywhere near her," I said as I passed my mother, pointedly sending her a nasty look of distrust. She returned the favor with the familiar narrowed eyes that suited her far more than the fake smiles she had probably been giving my dad.

As I left the house and started in any direction that was away from my dad's house, I let go of Ryan so I could walk away faster. Ryan ran to keep up. "That was your mother?" he asked.

That thought was revolting. "No, that's the demon who just so happens to be the creature to give me birth. She's not a mother in any sense of the word," I said. I fought to keep my shaken voice steady as I hugged myself to keep warm when a chilly blast of air hit us. "Why did she have to come back...?" I murmured.

Ryan walked next to me silently, his eyes on the ground. Finally, I needed to stop, my legs were getting heavy as the cold plus our fast pace finally sunk in. We made it to the park and I veered off to sat down on a swing. Ryan stood near me, his expression showing concern but confusion as he decided whether or not to speak. I sat with my back to him, not wanting him to see my break down. I couldn't help it, I was stressed, and crying was just a natural response to that. However, it was still embarrassing to be seen in such a state.

Ryan still saw it and he didn't hesitate before he slipped his arms around my neck and leaned against me. "I can't say I know what's going on, but I'm here for you," he whispered.

I reached up with one hand and took his tightly. "Just stupid crap," I croaked. ''It's nothing I can't handle by myself."

He nodded slowly, squeezing my hand. "You're right... but you don't have to. You've delt with things on your own all your life. Let someone help you this time," he said.

I chose not to mention the last time I had let someone help me, and instead, smiled at him as warmly as I could. "Yeah," he said. "I know..."

He smiled and kissed me softly. "It's what you need, and what you need is what I want," he told me.

I closed my eyes and let him swing me back and forth gently on the swing, wrapped up in the warmth of his arms. I forgot about the cold and concentrated on falling asleep in Ryan's embrace. My mom almost slipped from my mind entirely if she hadn't been the thing that was about to ruin the world I had begun to live in for only a month. The almost good world that I had somehow been given to keep; I couldn't keep it for much longer.

After a while, I felt much better and I stood up, taking a deep breath to settle the last of my nerves. "Well, I'm not ready to go back and see my mom yet, so why don't we go on a date?" I asked.

Ryan smiled at that idea. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere is fine," I said. "Someplace loud. I kinda want a distraction."

Ryan thought for a minute. "What about the city?" he suggested. "It's not too far away to walk and it's always a loud place."

I took his hand. "That sounds perfect," I said.

With Ryan's hand in mine, I felt his body heat seep through me as we began our walk to the city. It didn't take long to get there, and when we finally made it, it was so worth it. There were little shops all along the street and skyscrapers reaching almost to the clouds that reflected the sun in the sky like mirrors. People walked here and there with shopping bags and brief cases, some were moms with strollers. It was very nice and very loud. I'd been to the city before, but it was always in a car where views were limited and sounds and smells were muffled. Walking, I could see everything and take in all the beauty of everyday city life; and it really was beautiful.

Ryan and I walked slowly together, hands swinging between us as we walked. Every now and then we'd enter a shop and look at what they had. There was one shop that sold handmade clocks with very intricate engraved patterns, and another that I found very interesting that sold buttons from all over the world from famous people's uniforms and clothing. Being somewhat of a history buff, it was really neat.

We were walking past a jewelry store when Ryan pulled me inside. I frowned as we looked around. I may have been gay, but I wasn't into necklaces and stuff. Everything was very pretty, but I merely glanced at it.

Ryan, however, seemed excited. He looked inside a case with rings and smiled brightly. "Do you want one?" he asked me.

I looked at the one he was pointing to and raised an eyebrow. "I am a guy, you know? What would I want a ring for?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Well, you must know what a ring stands for. I want to be with you forever," he said, lifting his eyes to smile at me.

His words of love made me blush and I looked into the case to hide my expression. "Then... I like the one in the corner," I said shyly.

I was a mostly plain, silver ring with stripe of black running around the majority of middle before tapering off to points. Approving silently, Ryan pulled me close and kissed my cheek as an older lady behind the counter walked over. "Do you know which one you want?" she asked as she smiled at us. Ryan pointed to the ring I that I liked and she pulled it out or us. "It's a good choice. Very fitting,"she said as she put it in a small bag.

Ryan pulled out his wallet. "Thank you," he said. 

Ryan went to pay for it, but the lady shook her head. "Keep it, sweetheart. I don't get many young couples like you. It's good to know there's still real love in this wretched world."

The two of us blinked at her as she gave the ring to Ryan. He thanked her and we left the shop. Once outside, he lead me to a quiter place with a couple of benches and told me to sit down. Pulling the ring out, he took my hand and slipped it on one of my fingers. "There. Like she said, it's perfect," he told me. 

With a hint of a smile on my face, I gazed at the ring. "Thank you, Ryan," I said. 

He gave my fingers a squeeze before he kissed my hand. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," he said. "I'm going to go and grab us some hotdogs."

I chuckled and watched him walk away with a wave. I sighed happily and sat back to look at my ring. It fit perfectly and I smiled as I studied it closely. "Real love..." I murmured to myself. I glanced where Ryan was standing as he paid for hotdogs, and my smile grew a little. I guess that was what you'd call it. I did love him. More than anything.

As I watched my boyfriend, I noticed someone walk past him with a quick stride. My eyes caught onto them immediately and my eyebrows shot up. What was my mom doing in the city? She didn't live anywhere around here. As I watched, she walked around a corner and disappeared. My curiosity took over and I forgot all about Ryan as I stood up, following her silently down the street as she walked at a fast pace. She went a fair distance before turning onto a back street between two buildings and stepping inside a tattoo shop. I frowned and snuck over so I could look in the open door. I wasn't surprised when I saw my mother clinging all over some guy I didn't recognize. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him. "So, did you do what I asked?" she questioned.

"Yup, and you were right. He's been saving up for a while and I bet he's got around a 67,000 in the bank by now. Probably for that kid you were telling me about," the stranger said. I frowned, wondering who were they talking about.

"I wouldn't be surprised," my mom replied. "But it'll be mine soon anyways and I'm not giving a penny to that little brat." She flipped her permed hair over her shoulder as she spoke. "He can fend for himself."

"I still get my cut, right?" the man asked.

My mom smiled with fake sweetness that I knew meant a lie would be quick to follow. "Of course. You'll get a nice, juicy 15% of the profits," she said.

The man looked disappointed. "Only fifteen?"

"You might get more," my mom said. "We'll just have to see how much more information you can get me. Then we'll talk-"

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on my shoulder and I gasped in surprise, whipping around to find Ryan looking at me with panicked eyes. "Don't run off on me like that..." he said. "I almost had a heart attack."

"You had a heart attack? You scared the shit out of me," I hissed at him. "Don't grab me so suddenly."

He shook his head. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He started to look around the doorframe when my mother, having heard us who us whispering, stepped out. Her eyes caught us immediately and narrowed with distrust. Ryan and I stepped back quickly. 

"What are you doing here?" my mother asked coldly.

I glared at her. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be sucking up to my dad and not one of your lackeys?" I asked.

She smirked at me. "So, the runt's not as stupid as he looks," she said. I frowned at the insult as she stepped out of the side shop to stand closer. "Little boys better keep their mouths shut or they might regret it," she told me. With a glance at Ryan, she added, "That includes their faggot boyfriends as well."

Ryan's eyes showed shock and hurt, then anger at her words. I stepped in front of him. "That's old. Got any new names for once?" I asked as I took Ryan's hand and tugged him away. This wasn't his fight and I didn't want him getting mixed up with my mom unnecessarily.

My mother rolled her eyes as we retreated towards the main road again. "Just stay out of my way and I'll leave you alone," she said, and slammed the door to the shop closed behind her.

*******

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